Present Arms by UB40

Present Arms, UB40's second album, arrived in 1981 on DEP International and picked up right where Signing Off left off: all original songs, a heavy, echo-soaked reggae groove, and plenty to say. The Birmingham band, with Ali Campbell out front, aims the title track squarely at militarism, "One in Ten" takes a swing at Thatcherism, and "Sardonicus" nods at both Ronald Reagan and the frozen grin of tetanus.

It isn't all sermons. "Lamb's Bread" and "Don't Walk on the Grass" belong to the band's long-running push for legal cannabis, and the grooves are warm and weighty enough to float the anger. The record sat on the UK chart for 38 weeks, peaking at number 2, and a dub version, Present Arms in Dub, followed soon after. The title track, horns blaring, has opened UB40 shows since the mid-'90s.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.